Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Buy a Book, Save a Baby

A lot of authors are turning to digital platforms to publish their books, but Natalie Bahm is the only author I know who’s donating all the proceeds to charity.

You can find out the details on nataliebahm.com, but suffice it to say that one of her critique partners’ grandsons was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in February of 2011, just before an earthquake devastated large parts of the city. To further complicate matters, Jayden was born with a host of other problems, including a severe case of Hirschsprung’s disease, which makes it difficult for him to gain weight. Because he’s been in and out of the hospital his whole life--and because his family has had to relocate to Australia as part of his treatment--his parents have been shouldering a massive financial burden.

And that’s where Ms. Bahm comes in. She’s donating one hundred percent of the proceeds from her debut, an MG contemporary mystery called THE SECRET UNDERGROUND, to help offset the cost of Jayden’s care. That’s why I bought this book (and why I think you should, too).

The book itself is one part mystery, two parts adventure, and three parts friendship. It did take me a few chapters to get into, but I thought the combination of underground adventure and friendship struggles made for an exciting, true-to-life reading experience. I would have loved digging a network of tunnels under my neighborhood when I was a kid--although I could have done without the band of bank robbers hot on my tail:)

Buy the paperback
Buy the e-book for your Kindle or Nook
Buy the audiobook

There are several other purchasing options available, too, so if one of these methods doesn’t float your boat, be sure to check those out.

Last but not least, my very best wishes to Jayden and his family. I hope the road gets easier from here on out. And good luck to Ms. Bahm and her agent, Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency, too. May you sell many, many more books.

9 comments:

Julie DeGuia said...

Thanks for sharing this Krista... what a wonderful thing she is doing with her debut book.

Write Life said...

Natalie is an amazing person!
Having lost a son myself, I know what it is to want to fight for your child. I wish them all the very best! But I have to say it again, Natalie is very, very special!

Anonymous said...

Usually I feel like when authors use the "10% goes to charity" or $1, it's a ploy to get me to buy their book (it's like you can just donate it yourself afterwards and not toot your own horn), but nobody could say this isn't genuine. My heart goes out to this family. Bought the book, and believe me if my MG likes it, she'll tell all her friends about it:-) Thanks for sharing!

Leslie S. Rose said...

I'm looking at my copy right now. It arrived last week. Amazing project.

Krista Van Dolzer said...

I thought so, too, Julie.

Linda, I agree--Natalie is pretty special. And I'm so sorry about your son. I can't even begin to imagine how hard that must be.

Yes, Jamie, like you said, it's pretty obvious this isn't a publicity stunt. Natalie is just big-hearted.

Yay, Leslie! I love getting books in the mail, especially books with such a cool back story:)

Kristin Rae said...

What an amazing thing. Thanks for highlighting this!

Krista Van Dolzer said...

No problem, Kristin Rae!

erica and christy said...

Thanks so much for passing this on Krista! Natalie wouldn't know this, but she was the first person to make me think I had the chance to become a real author. She let some of her blog readers to query her mega-agent with a referral from her - and even though I was a newbie, it was a great experience. Wishing her - and the family she's helping - all the best of luck.
erica

Krista Van Dolzer said...

You're welcome, erica! And I've so appreciated the people who've encouraged me along the way, too. This industry dishes out a lot of beat-downs; it's nice to find people who will help build you back up.